Drying tray



Sepi. 21, 1948.

PQLA MACCHIA DRYING TRAY Filed Nov. 12, 1947' INVENTOFZ A TT'y PatentedSept. 21, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRYING TRAY Pasquale LaMacchia, Gilroy, Calif.

Application November 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,394

3 Claims.

My invention relates to trays for drying fruit such as prunes, and thelike, and it is the object of this invention to provide :a tray that maybe quickly and easily repaired in case of breakage, and in which theloaded trays may be stacked for use in dehydrators and for otherpurposes while allowing ample room for the circulation of air over theproduct being dried.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a tray of the characterindicated that will be economical to manufacture, rigid and strong,simple in construction, easily and quickly assembled, strong anddurable, light in weight, and highly efficient in its practicalapplication.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an isometric perspective view of my improved drying-tray.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1, partly brokenaway.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I show at l a strip ofsheet metal of suitable length and width, to form one side of the tray.This strip I has its two side edges turned inwardly upon itself as at 2and 3 and then outwardly as shown at 4 and 5. These outwardly turnedportions are spaced apart in parallel relation to each other. as shownto receive the ends of slats 6 which are preferably of wood.

At each end of the tray, and in the center, are placed cross members Iand 8, preferably of wood and resting upon the flanges 4 and in opposedand in parallel relation to each other.

A bolt as 9 is passed through the ends of each pair of cross members Iand 8, and the flanges 4 and 5 upon which they rest, thereby securelybinding the whole together in one substantial and rigid tray.

The only fastenings used are the six bolts 9, and if any slat is brokenit may be quickly and easily removed and replaced with another slat byremoving the bolts 9 at the adjacent end, inserting a new slat andsliding the whole forwardly until the space formerly occupied by thebroken slat is filled, and then replacing the bolts 9.

Cross members I and 8 are made somewhat Wider than the parts 2 and 3 sothat the trays may be stacked one on top of another and sufficient spaceleft between each two trays to allow free circulation of air betweenthem. The total width of the space so made is, of course, equal to twicethe distance that each member 1 and 8 projects above the adjoiningportions 2 and 3 of strip I.

By means of this construction a tray is formed that is easily andquickly repaired, and in which either side may be used for loading.

It is to be understood, of course, that while I have herein shown anddescribed but one embodiment of the invention, changes in form,construction, and method of assembly may be made within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

A drying-tray comprising, sheet metal side members of suitable lengthand width, each side member having its side edges turned inwardly uponitself and then outwardly in spaced and parallel relation to each other,bottom slats disposed in opposing slots so formed, spacing and tiemembers having a thickness greater than the first named inwardly turned.portions of the side members seated at their ends upon the oppositesides of the opposed outwardly turned portions of the side members, andmeans binding the adjacent ends of the tie members and side members intoone integral whole.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the last mentioned meansare bolts passing through said ends and the parts of the side membersupon which they rest.

3. A drying tray comprising, sheet metal side members of suitable lengthand width, each side member having parts disposed on one sidelongitudinally thereof and parallel with each other to form slots inopposed relation to each other, bottom slats disposed in the opposingslots so formed, spacing and tie members having a thickness greater thanthe spacing of the first mentioned parts from the edges of the sidemembers seated at their ends upon the opposite sides of the firstmentioned parts and means bolting the adjacent ends of the tie membersand side members into one integral whole.

PASQUALE LA MACCHIA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 961,053 Williams June 7, 19102,168,520 Fregeau Aug. 8, 1939 2,332,444 Gilley Oct. 19, 1943 2,334,322Galante Nov. 16, 1943 r 2,381,608 Leyerle Aug. 7, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 31,418 The Netherlands Dec. 15, 1933

